1. Technical Field
The embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a power and data communication connection in a vehicle.
2. Background Art
A number of vehicles produced today include a power point connection for providing power to any number of electrical devices brought into a vehicle by a user. Such devices may include a cell phone, portable DVD player, personal laptops, compact disc players, etc. The power point connection comprises a power point plug and receptacle positioned in the instrument panel of the vehicle or other interior portion of the vehicle. The power point connection is coupled to a power supply in the vehicle. In the past, these power point connections were used to heat cigarette lighters when automakers provided such lighters in vehicles. Conventional power point connections are large and consume a large amount of surface area on the instrument panel or other portion in the interior of the vehicle. For example, the power point connection may consume 30 mm to 40 mm of space on the dash panel or on other interior trim pieces to allow for customer usage. Conventional power point connections are limited to providing power for charging and powering up the electrical devices brought into the vehicle by the user.
With the advent of data communication protocols and the use of such communication with any number of electrical devices, automakers today may be compelled to provide an architecture that supports a data communication protocol while continuing to provide an ample amount of power needed to charge and operate the electronic devices. Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocols have become prevalent on a number of consumer electronic devices. Such devices may include laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, MP3 players, mouses, keyboards, cell phones, printers, fax machines, etc. While the use of USB has become prevalent, the USB protocol is limited in the amount of power that can be provided to any one or more electronic devices via a USB connector. Due to such limitations, the USB connector cannot be used to power and/or charge a number of the electronic devices generally coupled to a vehicle through the power point connection.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a combined power data connection for supporting data communication between electronic devices coupled to a vehicle and for providing higher power requirements in order to charge and power the electronic devices. It would also be desirable to reduce the size of the power point connection to preserve space on the instrument panel and/or other trim pieces which support power point connections used in vehicles today.